Wheel for vehicles



(-No Model.)

C. H. STRAIGHT.-

WHEBL P0P. VEHICLES.

No. 391,987. Patented' oet. 3o, 1.888..

QXL/Mmmm l l Swan/V602; Mpm ggg/MW..

(MlG @51g S @Hom/leg l ccd] V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OLARENCEII. STRAIGHT, OF BRYAN, OHIO, ASSIG-NOR OF ONEIIALF TO DAVID A. GARVER, OF SAME PLACE.

WHEEL FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391,987, dated October 30, 1888.

Application filed December 29, 1887. Serial No. 259,322.

To all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that l, CLARENCE HS'mArci-rr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bryan, in the county of Villiarns and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wheels for Vehicles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to 1o Which it appertains to make and use the same. This invention relates to wheels constructed entirely of metal, and has for its object the production o'fa light, strong, simple, and durable Wheel for agricultural implements, wheeli 5 barrows,baby-carriagcs,small express-wagons, and other light vehicles, and lwhich shall be capable of easy adjustment to tighten up the parts when the Wheel becomes loose from the stretching of the spokes or from wear.

To these ends the invention consists in a divided hub composed of four disks or plates adjustably arranged on an axle box or tube and disposed in pairs on opposite sides ofthe plane of the rim of the wheel, one or both of 2 5 the plates of each pair having in their adjacent faces conical depressions or cavities to form a conical chamber between the plates of each pair, and in providing the inner ends of the spokes with wedge-shaped or conical heads, 5o Which are received in said chanibers,whereby the adjustment of the plates of either pair toward each other will force the contained heads of the spokes inward and tighten the wheel. f

In the accompanying drawings,which illustrate my invention and form a part of this speciiication, Figure l is a side elevation of my wheel. Fig. 2 is an edge View. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation. Fig. i is a side view of 4o the hub with one of its parts detached, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a modiiication.

c designates a cylindrical tube, which receives the axle, and which may therefore be denominated the boX.77 VBoth ends of this box are exteriorly screw-threaded, the threads running toward the center asufticient distance to receive and hold the parts of the interiorlythreaded hub. The hub is composed of four parts, (marked b b and c 0,)which are screwed in (No model.)

pairs upon opposite ends of the box c, one of 5o the parts band one of the parts c constituting a pair. The parts b c of each pair are formed with conical recesses or cavities bl c in their adjacent faces, the conical cavities in the inner parts, I), being formed in the bottoms of cylin- 5 drical cavities, the latter forming annular iianges b2, of a length corresponding with the thickness of the spokes. These iianges are notched at intervals (see Figs. 2 and 4C) to receive the spokes d,which are provided at their 6o ends With conical or wedge-shaped heads d, which iit the conical cavities in the two parts b c of the hub when they are put together, and Which prevent the spokes from pulling out. The outer ends of the spokes project through the rim or tire c, and are secured by upsetting or riveting, as usual in wheels of this class.

. The parts b b ofthe hub are arranged on the box a on opposite sides of the plane of the rim or tire e, and the spokes are alternately con- 7o nected with said two parts to give strength and rigidity to the Wheel, as is also usual in wheels of this class.

The conical heads d at the inner ends of the spokes are somewhat shorter than the radial space between the danges bl and the box a, (see Fig. 3,) and this affords a means for tightening the Wheel within certain limits, as by screwing the outer parts, c, of the hubs toward the inner parts, b, the chambers formed by the conical recesses in the two parts will be shortened and the heads d Will be crowdedv inward, thus taking up the slack ofthe spokes and tightening the Wheel.

In the modification represented in Fig. 5 the inner ends of the spokes are not headed, as above described, but the extreme ends are bent out at substantially aV right angle, and the outer surfaces of the bent-out ends are beveled to correspond with' the inclined wall of the 9c conical recess in-the part c. By screwing the latter up the same tightening effect is pro duced, as above described. In this case the part b is not recessed, but is formed with radial grooves across its outer face to receive the 9 5 spokes. y

Having thus described my invention, I claim as newW 1. In a metal wheel, the combination, with the central tuzbe or box, a, the rim or tire c, and the spokes, the latter being provided at their inner ends with conical or wedgeshaped heads d', of thehnb composed of Afour plates or disks, b b and c e, adjustably arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the plane ofthe rim or tire, one or both of the plates of each pair having conical annularreccsses or cavities in their adjacent faces to form chambers for the reception ofthe heads of the spokes, whereby the adjustment of the plates of either pair toward cach other will force the heads oi the spokes inward and tighten the wheel.

2. In a metal Wheel, the combination, with the central tube or box, a, the rim or tire c, and the spokes, the latter being provided at their Y inner ends with conical or wedgeshaped heads d, of the hub composed of fonr plates or disks, b b and c c, adjustably arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the plane of the rim or tire, each pair having an interior conical chamber for the reception of the heads of the spokes, and one plate of each pair having radial grooves or notches to receive and hold the spokes, the disks of each pair being adj ustable toward each other to force the heads of the spokes inward and tighten the wheel while the spokes are held in proper radial position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in 3o presence of' two Witnesses.

CLARENCE l'I, STRAIGHT.

Witnesses:

.ToHN Il. W'irrrn, WILLIAM XV. DAneY. 

